Hagatha
Dame Hagatha is the witch who resided in Kolyma and kidnapped Valanice and imprisoned her in the Crystal Tower, due to jealousy. She is the sister of Mordack and Manannan. She is said to be the most powerful and evil of witches, and has a taste for human flesh. The skulls of her victims decorate the outside and inside of her cave. She is also known simply as Hag.KQ2 Hintbook, 27 Background Hagatha is an old and evil witch, with poor eyesight, who lived in the kingdom of Kolyma, known for her cannibalism, and has killed many unfortunate travelers who have fallen into her clutches (placing their skulls on stakes outside of her cave, or scattered about inside).Narrator (KQ2): "This forbidding cave is the home of Hagatha, the wicked old hag. There are human skulls on stakes at the entrance. This is not a reassuring sign.", "The skulls probably belong to unfortunate travelers who fell into Hagatha's clutches. She has a taste for human flesh, you know.", "You look around this dreary cave. Fear grips you as you notice human skulls lining the wall.", "There are many human skulls in Hagatha's cave. She has a taste for human flesh." Those she grabs she throws into her caulron to make her brew, a broth of bones and human flesh, she loves to have for dinner.Narrator (KQ2):"She grabs you and throws you into her cauldron. She will love to have you for dinner. heh, heh, heh!": She is also well known for her vanity. She is a vain hag who was jealous of beauty of the maiden Valanice, the daughter of the prince of Kolyma, Prince Cedric and the miller's daughter Coignice. The jealous crone whisked Valanice away from her parents and servants from her castle in eastern Kolyma. She took Valanice to an enchanted land, and imprisoned her in a Crystal Tower guarded by a ferocious wild beast.KQ2 Manual, pg Years later, after Graham journeyed to Kolyma in search of Valanice, he discovered that Hagatha, was not only Valanice captor, but that she had also stolen the shop owner Milvia's magical Nightingale, and also imprisoned the golden lion. Hagatha was strong and powerful witch, he had no way to defeat herNarrator (KQ2): "The old hag is stronger than she looks. You shouldn't try it.", and had to avoid her.Narrator (KQ2): The old hag, Hagatha, is nearby! You can hear her cackling and smacking her gums as she comes closer. She would love to have you for dinner, and I don't mean as a guest!" He managed to enter into Hagatha's very lair, to rescue the magical nightingale from under Hagatha's wicked nose.KQ6 Hintbook, pgNarrator (KQ2):"Hagatha is busily stirring her brew and muttering to herself. As she has very bad eyesight, she hasn't noticed you." Some claim she was not inside the cave when he entered, but was waiting outside when he exited with the covered nightingale.KQC, pg He was nearly caught by the hag, but only the magic spell from a fairy protected him.Narrator (KQ2): You have been caught by the hag! Fortunately, you were protected by a magical spell so she left without harming you!" Graham later met the antique dealer, and who sent him to retrieve her precious nightengale.Milvia (KQ2): "There is an alternative, though, the old hag, Hagatha, stole my precious nightengale. If you can return it to me, then I will give you the oil lamp." He had already rescued the bird, and returned it to her.KQC, 2nd Edition, pg Graham ultimately made it to the quartz tower on the Enchanted Island where Valanice was being kept, and rescued her from Hagatha. Surprisingly, Hagatha later made an appearance at Graham and Valanice wedding at the Monastery of the Blessed Wilbury in Kolyma, but she continued to hold a grudge towards the king. Graham's rescue of Valanice set off a series of events that have shaped the destiny of Daventry. Later, Hagatha's brother, Manannan, kidnapped Graham and Valanice's son in revenge for Graham's deed against Hagatha. Dame Hagatha disappeared from Kolyma soon after the incident. Mordack's kidnap of Castle Daventry and everyone in it was a direct, if unforseen, consequence of Alexander's triumph over ManannanKing's Quest Companion, pg 474. Derek believes that Hagatha's evil family is the cosmic balance to Graham's. Nothing had been heard of either Hagatha or Mananann since Graham destroyed their brother Mordack. He thinks that is a bad sign..The King's Quest Companion, 2nd Edition, 474-475 Notes *Derek Karlavaegen postulates that Hagatha's evil family is the cosmic balance to Graham's.KQC, 2nd Edition, pg 474 *Hagatha has very bad eyesight,she doesn't notice Graham when he passes near her to get the nightingale. On the other hand, she has good hearing, so if Graham takes the cage with the nightingale without covering it - the nightingale will start singing, alerting Hagatha, and she will kill Graham. *She is an ugly old lady, she's toothless, with warts all over her face, and she has matted grey hair. She has clawlike hands. *She has green skin. *She is often seen stirring a brew with a stick in her iron cauldron. The iron cauldron bubbles with a nasty smelling, yellow brew (broth made from human flesh and bone). A hot fire burns underneath. Narrator (KQ2): "The brew in the iron cauldron is a sickly yellow color. Hot steam rises from it. The odor is almost unbearable. You believe it to be a broth made from human flesh and bone.", "A cauldron with a bubbling brew fills the cave with a putrid aroma.", "The iron cauldron is bubbling with a nasty smelling brew. A hot fire burns underneath." *She can be seen in the woods near her cave, carrying her walking stick.Narrator: This is the ugliest old lady you have ever seen. She's toothless with warts and has matted gray hair. Her clawlike hands are gripping a walking stick. *If Graham attempts to talk to her outside, she cackles, chortles, and mutters under her breathNarrator (KQ2): "The old hag cackles, chortles, and mutters under her breath (which smells so bad you almost faint)." *Talking to her in her cave is a really bad idea, she will come after you (she will not respond if you attempt to talk to her again). *Graham wishes he had pushed her into her cauldron when he had the chance, but never attempted it because he believed her too strong. *Surprisingly, Hagatha makes an apperance at Graham and Valanice wedding, despite the fact that Graham had rescued Valanice from the evil witch. She is there along along with other friends, adversaries and villains (from KQ1 and KQ2). *It's possible to safely steal the nightingale when Hagatha is gone from her cave, without the need of the cloth. *If you have the good fairy's protective spell she will not be in her cave. She can still attempt to capture you in the forest, but will let you go. *In KQV there is a nod to the fact that Graham has seen several ugly hags during his life, when he look at the Witch of the Dark Forest, "Of all the ugly hags Graham has seen in his life, THIS is by far the ugliest!" Like Hagatha, the witch is too strong to be shoved aside by a mere man such as Graham. *Of all the wicked witches in the official King's Quest games - Hagatha is the only one who cannot be killed or otherwise rendered harmless. Behind the scenes The fact that Hagatha is the villain and the kidnapper of Valanice only appears in the manual (but not in the game). There is no mention of her having had kidnapped Valanice anywhere in the game, much like the gingerbread witch in KQ1, she is treated as a generic fairy tale witch, and is an obstacle in the game, that must be ignored or bypassed in some way. She is however named several times in the game (unlike the wicked witch in KQ1, who is referred to simply as "a witch"). She brought into the plot by the "little old lady" (Milvia) who requests Graham to retrieve her stolen nightingale from Hagatha. Infact there is really only one or two offhand references in KQ2 that even refer to Valanice's kidnapping (but make no specific reference to who kidnapped her). In the official King's Quest Collection trivia program, and King's Quest Companion, she is said to be sister of Mordack and Manannan. In King's Quest Companion this detail was first mentioned in the King's Quest Companion, First Edition in the An Encyclopedia of Daventry (in the articles for Hagatha and Manannan). However, at the time it only connected Mannanan and Hagatha together as brother and sister. The articles were expanded to include Mordack in the 2nd Edition, and it is also referenced within the novelization of KQV. The novelization and article for Mordack went on to suggest that Hagatha's family represent an evil force that is fated to battle the force of good represented by the Royal Family of Daventry. However, the fact that they are siblings is not brought up in any of the manuals or the main King's Quest games. Peter Spear and other King's Quest designers established it in the trivia game and companion. Apparently Roberta at a much later time did not remember the idea (even though she apparently assisted Peter Spear and gave her go ahead for the 2nd Edition of the Companion); "I asked Roberta ..., and sorry to admit that she said she didn't remember the Black Cloak Society. It sounds cool. Perhaps she should have taken it more seriously and featured it in other games. With respect to Hagatha related to Manannan and Mordack: Roberta's answer was, "Would you like them to be related?" Then she said, "Nope, Hagatha was her own separate person." - Ken Williams at SierraGamers (6-9-2003) ...one final thing: Hagatha was never part in any discussion of a Black Cloak Society. - Roberta Williams at SierraGamers (6-9-2003) It is possible that she forgot about it, as similarly Roberta, forgot most of the details of her discussions of the Society of the Black Cloak, and also forgot some of the details of material that was cut from MOE, and had to be reminded by Mark Seibert, see Talkspot Interview (1999). In PG Wodehouse's "Jeeves and Wooster" books and stories, Bertie Wooster has two meddling aunts named Dahlia and Agatha. It is possible that Dahlia and Hagatha are named after these fictional characters. Trivia *In King's Quest II, if you sneak up to her in her cave and type "kiss Hagatha", you'll get a humorous response: "Smack, hug, whoopie.. yuck, barf, gag." Attempting to kiss her anywhere else the game will state, "What a revolting idea!". *If Graham walks through the screen with the entrance to Hagatha's cave several times the Batmobile will appear and drive into the cave. Hagatha (unofficial) Hagatha appears in fan fiction including fan games, see Hagatha (unofficial). References category:Witches Category:Characters (KQ2) Category:Villains Category:King's Questions